Business of BPM

Upcoming Webinar

Although I get a ton of e-mails on BPM webinars, this one caught my eye.  It talks about process optimization which I think is key.  Too many companies are willing to implement a current practice even without re-evaluating it.

Process optimization and process improvement initiatives are becoming integral components of BPM best practices. With this in mind, we would like to invite you to Wednesday's Webinar, titled "Aligning Process Improvement Initiatives with BPM." This Webinar will discuss approaches to BPM and the discipline of process optimization, as well as:

    * Real world techniques for process improvement
    * Advanced software solutions for process optimization
    * The impact on the future of BPM
    * How Lean Six Sigma is used in conjunction with BPM

Featured speakers are Jim Sinur, Chief Strategy Officer of Global 360 and Craig Edmonds, IT Manager of Symetra. Join them this Wednesday to learn effective techniques for process optimization.

To Learn More: http://www.ebizq.net/to/EBWGlobal3600801
   To Register: http://www.ebizq.net/webinars/8268.html?uid=0x1d9e5

Forrester: IT Strategy Maps

It isn't often that I read a great piece of research, but I was recently reading a piece from Forrester from 2005 called IT Strategy Maps: A Tool For Strategic Alignment.  It does a great job of talking about the Balanced Scorecard and its application within IT.

It also uses what they call a Strategy Map which is built off the Balanced Scorecard layout using four perspectives:

• Financial
• Customer
• Learning and Growth
• Internal Business Processes

As I have talked about many times, this business process quadrant is key for BPM.  Understanding this.  Knowing the metrics.  Understanding how it drives strategy.  With that information, BPM can be strategically positioned.

Optimists??

I was a little surprised.  I put a pessimistic view out there thinking I might get a few of the vendors and some others I know that read the blog to comment.  Obviously, there is a lot going on in the BPM world.  Just look at Gartner's next conference or any of the PR coming out of the companies. 

It is a challenge to get this integrated with all the other efforts and prioritized, but the information is out there.  Ideas?  Comments?

I often go to BPM Enterprise's news feed to see the latest articles and PR...(here).

BPM: State of the Industry

BPM (as a technology) continues to move along, but after my time in CRM years ago, I see several parallels. 

1. It has had significant year-over-year growth but is still small dollars in a relative technology pool.
2. Big companies that are innovators have embraced it.
3. Small teams have embraced it.
4. Mainstream executives aren't yet talking about it.
5. No one is betting the business on it yet.  (As I told someone the other day, if the PE firm that bought Chrysler announced they were rebuilding Chrysler around a BPM approach and using a BPM technology platform then the market would change.)
6. The value propositions although clear aren't packaged up enough.
7. Methodology is still lagging.

Will it disappear?  No.  Did CRM?  Look at Siebel.  Look at how 1:1 marketing has evolved.  Look at the impact on database marketing.

I simply think BPM is at the chasm (i.e., Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey Moore).  As with anything new, you get huge lift from a small group of people willing to innovate.  Then, the hard work begins.  But, I believe BPM will change the way people think about process mapping.  It will change how people approach process integration projects.  It will get people thinking about automated process innovation and problem identification.  All great things.

We will see how things evolve.  Lots of companies are exploring.  Buying has been slower, but it is a long sales cycle.   

Healthcare Blog

I have decided to split out into two separate blogs.  Probably not easier on myself, but I think it represents my two areas of work right now.  With that, I have started The Patient Advocate blog which is more about healthcare and consumerism.

It includes some of the historical posts from here, but my intent is to manage the two separately.  Here I will talk about process related issues and technology while I focus on healthcare over there. 

You Have to See Sicko

Have you seen Sicko?  I got the management team from a healthcare client of mine to go see it with me last week in Boston.  I thought it was great.  If you know nothing about healthcare, you will think our system is the worse system in the world and be appalled.  If you work in healthcare, you realize Michael found and did a great job of pointing out many of the weaknesses. 

He also did a good job of identifying some interesting facts and showing us how healthcare works abroad.   Without being a spoiler, here are some observations:

• People without health insurance that get hurt face some very tough challenges.  We need some type of care system that supports them.
• Our  processes should not interfere with care.  Dropping people off in hospital gowns  since they can't pay their hospital bills is wrong.
• Drugs are a lot cheaper outside the US.
• The hypothesis that you wait for care outside the US seems to be a myth.
• Running a company based on denial of care versus managing risk through wellness is a problem.  This ties to bigger problems we have with the system design.

Before I go off as a liberal republican (or conservative democrat), my only recommendation is see the movie. 

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Biometric Loyalty Program

Loyalty is a very interesting process.  How do you drive people's behavior to make them more loyal to your service or product?  This is especially complicated in healthcare.  For example, how do you encourage people to visit your pharmacy more often without incenting them to fill prescriptions unnecessarily.  How do you encourage people to use your ER versus another ER without discouraging them from going to their primary care physician?  Aligned incentives is a problem that HR and performance management consultants have worked on for years.  It isn't easy.

I was intrigued by another article in Chain Store Age (July 2007, pg. 150) about Green Hills Market in NY.  This is a small, $18M company which is using technology from Pay By Touch to take their loyalty program to the next level of personalization by introducing biometrics.

• No more need to carry a card.
• The ability to know use by family member.

It seems to work.  Participants are shopping more often and spending more.  After they scan in at the front of the store, they get personalized promotions based on their shopping habits.  They are getting supply chain efficiencies and improving cross-selling. 

I also found it interesting that the author pointed out that at many stores you could scan any loyalty card and get the discounts.  As she pointed out, this makes some of the data suspect. 

Gift cards - young shoppers

I have always wondered about gift cards and young people.  I still prefer to give presents versus a gift card.  I might as well be giving them cash.  It seems just as general.  Now the following article didn't talk about gift satisfaction, but I found these statistics interesting in Chain Store Age (July 2007, pg. 152):

• 60% of children have received a gift card in the past few months
• 58% of children use gift cards for impulse purchases (seem logical)
• Toys and board games were purchases with older kids (9-14) more likely to use them for video games or apparel
• Cards were biased by gender - boys (entertainment, electronic stores) and girls (department stores, clothing stores, book stores)
• The average card value was $44
• 39% of recipients spent more than the card value (so they work)

MIA

It has been a few weeks since I posted.  Sorry.  I am going to do a little bit of a data dump over the next few days, but I have also been exploring the creation of a healthcare specific blog.  It needs some work before I unveil it.

Interestingly enough, I have had a bunch of conversations with people - entrepreneurs, consultants, executives, and corporate people - on the same topic.  Career management.  It is an interesting process which I am sure many of us wish could be automated with rules and best practices to guide us.  There are lots of tough questions.

• What am I good at? 
• What do I enjoy?
• Is there a role that I enjoy and will be successful?
• Am I better off at a big company or a small company?
• What is my individual value proposition or elevator pitch?  Does anyone buy it?
• What constraints do I have - geographic, travel, other commitments, financial obligations?

Given today's economy and the job market, things are pretty open.  This places a different pressure on people.  Options are not always good.  Too many choices can make your decisions complicated.  Some of the questions I have heard recently are:

• How do I reposition myself after being out of the job market raising my kids for 7 years?
• I spent a small period of time at a company and want to leave...do I even show it on my resume?
• I make a lot of money, but I hate my job.  Can I honestly walk away from it?
• How do I conduct a job search and do my daytime job?
• I want to leave, but I think there will be layoffs.  Should I stay around until they fire me and get a package? 
• The market does look that good for this product.  Should I take my future in my own hands or leave it up to the company?  Will they be compassionate if I wait?
• I am in a big company.  Should I be actively managing my career or leave it up to the company to manage it for me? 

Some people are very methodical about this.  I have one friend who has been a CEO and sold a company who spent the past year evaluating his options.  In the end, he decided he wanted to be a broker for EdwardJones.  Great for him, but a big surprise to me. 

Myths of Innovation

Guy Kawaski has another great interview on his blog.  This is an interview with Scott Berkun, author of "The Myths of Innovation".  If you are fascinated with innovation, this is a good read.  I have tried innovation internally and externally.  These last few start-ups which I have worked on have been great.  This article addresses some of the things I have learned the hard way. 

• Innovators are born and made
• Innovators face lots of challenges outside the creative process - support
• Get out of the ivory tower and "tinker"
• Problem definition (i.e., asking the right questions) is key  (At HOK, we used to use a book called Problem Seeking for architectural requirements which is a helpful framework here.)

There is a lot more here.  I think companies often miss the importance of "sponsoring" innovation through several actions:

• Encouraging people to try things and having a culture that allows risk
• Capturing ideas and having people who look across ideas for new combinations of things
• Having funds allocated to try things...if VCs who get their pick of ideas only expect 2 of 10 to flush out, why do companies look for 10 of 10
• Bringing in people with diversity (background, culture, education, industry)

Innovation is a critical process for companies.  Thinking about how you create it, capture ideas, and manage your portfolio is important.  In this blog, I have talked about P-TRIZ and ROT which are both relevant here.